If anything, satellite imaging company Vantor’s signing of a contract last week with the U.S. Space Force to help run a “neighborhood watch” in space to monitor space-based threats like rogue satellites or debris that ground sensors may miss has reconfirmed a growing trend.
And that is the significant role the private sector now plays in developing and operating spy satellites of the world’s major military powers.
This marks a major shift from the traditional model, where only government space agencies and large defense contractors handled such programs. But now, the commercial sector is often developing technology faster and more cheaply. Defense agencies are leveraging that.
Contractually, Vantor, using its own satellites already in orbit, will monitor space and protect U.S. satellites in the increasingly crowded area between 99 and 1,200 miles above the surface.
It may be noted that there is now an intense new space race, with countries such as the United States, China, Russia, India, and Israel launching more and more satellites into orbit, both civilian and military.
Military satellites have emerged as indispensable in modern warfare. Since the earliest reconnaissance satellites of the Cold War era, space-based assets have evolved into “silent sentinels” that offer unrivaled advantages in “Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR); secure communications; navigation and precision strike; missile defense early warning; electronic warfare support; and space situational awareness”.
As has been proved in the ongoing Russian-Ukraine War, recent “air-wars” between India and Pakistan (during Operation Sindoor, satellite-based surveillance helped Indian defence forces to act swiftly by offering accurate intelligence, including the trajectory and movement of drones and missiles), and series of missiles exchanges in the Middle East, involving particularly the U.S. and Israel, over the last few years, military satellites have become vital force multipliers – indicating a nation’s military strength and readiness. And here, the private sector is playing an important role.
The private sector is participating in the production of the satellites and their components; development or innovation of technologies for satellite propulsion, high-resolution cameras, and hyperspectral and radar imaging; building satellite constellations; putting intelligence-gathering satellites into orbit; and providing advanced imagery and data analytics to governments and intelligence agencies, complementing or, in some cases, substituting for government-owned capabilities.
Incidentally, the Russia-Ukraine War is now dubbed the first “commercial space war” for the outsized role that private satellite networks and imagery have played.
Satellite communications became a lifeline: within days of the 2022 invasion, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service was activated over Ukraine, providing resilient broadband for the Ukrainian government, military units, and civilians when terrestrial networks were disrupted.
This allowed frontline troops to coordinate attacks and drone operations via Starlink even as Russia attempted to jam or hack communications.
Likewise, Ukraine has received a steady flow of high-resolution images from other U.S. and European commercial companies (such as Maxar, Planet, and Capella Space). These images, including all-weather radar imagery, revealed Russian force movements and positions even when cloud cover or nightfall might have offered concealment.
Reportedly, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) of the United States, which oversees building and launching spy satellites, has links with the operators of the commercial satellites for intelligence purposes, particularly for using their collected imagery or other data at negotiated prices.
It is said that Elon Musk’s SpaceX entered “the intelligence business” in 2021 when it signed a $1.8 billion contract with the NRO. While the details remain classified, the goal is to build and launch a network of hundreds of spy satellites—or maybe more—with specialized intelligence payloads into low Earth orbit.
Similarly, the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has reportedly entered into an arrangement with Slingshot Aerospace, a California-based space technology firm, to develop an artificial intelligence system to monitor adversarial satellites.
It is supposed to “identify malfunctioning or potentially nefarious objects and their objectives within large satellite constellations” by going “beyond traditional approaches and developing a novel and scalable AI algorithm”, according to Dylan Kesler, Slingshot’s director of data science and AI.
The phenomenon of the private sector participating in the commercialisation and militarisation of space is not limited to the U.S.; it is also seen in other countries.
In 2014, the Chinese government opened the space sector to private capital, even though China’s space technology market is dominated by state-owned firms, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Private companies like LandSpace (developing liquid methane-oxygen rockets), i-Space (pioneering reusable rockets), and Galactic Energy (focused on solid- and liquid-fuel rockets) are developing launch vehicles and satellites that can be integrated into military systems, filling specific roles and enhancing overall capabilities.
Of late, the Communist rulers of China have actively integrated private companies into military-related supply chains to leverage their technology and innovation toward military-civilian goals, or civil-military fusion. Beijing is reported to have plans to launch two megaconstellations in the coming years, comprising tens of thousands of satellites. This is seen as a bid to rival Elon Musk’s SpaceX, whose network of Starlink communication satellites is said to include more than 6,000 operational spacecraft.
Similarly, Russia’s private sector is increasingly involved in the country’s military satellite ecosystem, with companies developing components, providing services, and even launching their own satellites for both military and commercial purposes. While state-owned corporations like Roscosmos traditionally dominated the field, there is a growing trend toward public-private partnerships, particularly for projects such as Earth observation satellites and potential communication constellations.
Private sector involvement in Russia’s military applications also includes the use of private firms for defensive capabilities and the potential for cyber-attacks on both Russian and adversary military satellites.
Last month (September 18), Roscosmos partnered with privately owned investment company AFK Sistema to develop a new Earth observation satellite constellation. AFK Sistema subsidiary Sputnix will design the spacecraft, and Roscosmos will provide launch services. Sputnix will supply the data obtained from the satellite to the federal Earth Observation Data Fund for further delivery to end users.
Representational Image
The Indian private sector is also not behind. India’s space policy, as revised in 2023, encourages the private players to establish manufacturing and incubation centres. And these players are also helping boost the country’s military satellite program, particularly its ambitious Space-Based Surveillance-3 (SBS-3) program, which aims to launch a constellation of 52 satellites over the next three years, with nearly half developed by private companies.
First of this satellite is expected to be launched by 2026. This collaboration is driven by a need for indigenous surveillance capabilities and aims to boost speed, innovation, and agility in the country’s defense sector.
Three private space startups, Ananth Technologies, Centum Electronics, and Alpha Design Technologies, have joined hands with the government to give shape to this project.
It may be noted that Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. (TASL), a leading private player, has already built India’s first privately developed spy satellite, equipped for high-resolution imagery. It was launched last year from Florida on a SpaceX rocket. TASL is also involved in building the ground control center in Bengaluru for image processing and guidance.
Incidentally, many Indian private players in the space industry are now building surveillance satellites for other countries as well. Bengaluru-based Ananth Technologies is executing an order from Australia to deliver surveillance satellites.
Such private players are said to have strong business prospects in countries that lack their own satellite programmes and cannot engage with major American companies without large orders.
Beyond manufacturing for other nations, Indian startups are also planning to launch their own surveillance satellites, with the possibility of selling their data and information to the government and others. For instance, Chennai-based GalaxEye Space is working to launch its own surveillance satellites to offer services to various clients.
In sum, as military reliance on satellites grows, there will be closer integration between military and commercial space, with the lines between commercial and military space activities blurring.
However, there is a big question that military experts are asking as the process unfolds. If a commercial company is providing service to one side in a conflict, does it become a lawful target for the other side?
There is no answer to this question under the existing International law. And that could lead to a dangerous scenario in which commercial establishments providing military services become targets, with grave economic consequences.
Author and veteran journalist Prakash Nanda is Chairman of the Editorial Board of the EurAsian Times and has been commenting on politics, foreign policy, and strategic affairs for nearly three decades. He is a former National Fellow of the Indian Council for Historical Research and a recipient of the Seoul Peace Prize Scholarship.
CONTACT: prakash.nanda (at) hotmail.com